Zach Neto notches big hit to help Angels secure sweep

ANAHEIM — Shortstop Zach Neto was mad at himself after his first two at-bats that saw him strike out and pop up to third base.

So Neto went to his iPad in the dugout to study video of his at-bats, only for manager Ron Washington to tell him his issue was more mental, as he was trying too hard to hit for power. Neto took it to heart in his third at-bat and toned down his unorthodox leg kick with two strikes and ripped a key three-run double to help carry the Angels to a 5-2 win over the A’s on Wednesday afternoon at Angel Stadium. Neto, who went 2-for-4, led the Angels to a three-game sweep and they’re now two games over .500 in June at 12-10.

“I was frustrated early in the game with my at-bats and I looked at my iPad but Wash came over and told me I wasn’t going to find the answer there,” Neto said. “He told me to tone my swing and put the head on the ball and that I have enough power to drive the ball out of the ballpark or hit the ball hard. I took it into that at-bat, and it just so happened to be the double.”

Neto, the No. 13 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, is one of the organization’s most important players, as he looks the part of a future perennial All-Star at shortstop. The 23-year-old has continued to get better in his first full season in the Majors, as he’s been a key contributor at the plate, on the bases and at shortstop.

He’s grown especially close with Washington, who jokingly refers to Neto as “Big Poppa,” because of his walk-up music featuring The Notorious B.I.G. But Washington thought Neto was trying to do too much early in the game and gave him some key advice he took to heart.

“What he showed me he could do is stop trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark and make contact,” Washington said. “I’d been talking to him about that all day. He was looking at his iPad and I said, ‘You’re not gonna find the answer there. All you keep doing is swinging and looking back at me. All you gotta do is put the head on the ball.’ And that’s what he did.”

The Angels couldn’t get much going offensively against A’s right-hander Joey Estes, but finally started to put something together with two outs in the sixth. Willie Calhoun walked to put two runners on and the A’s turned to reliever Austin Adams.

Pinch-hitter Luis Guillorme worked a walk before Mickey Moniak was hit by a pitch with two strikes to bring home the tying run. That brought up Neto, who quickly found himself in a 1-2 hole after taking a pair of fastballs for strikes.

Neto, though, stayed back on a slider from Adams and was able to drive it to left field to clear the bases. And despite not using his leg kick, he still hit the ball plenty hard, as it had an exit velocity of 106.8 mph, and left fielder Miguel Andujar had trouble getting to it.

“I was just trying not to strike out,” Neto said. “He left a slider in a good spot to hit and I was able to get the bat to the ball and hustled out of the box.”

It was another big moment for Neto, who is also the first Angels infielder with at least 10 homers and 10 stolen bases before the All-Star break since Troy Glaus in 2000. He reached that mark with a stolen base in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s win and was given the second-base bag from that game as a keepsake before Wednesday’s game. Neto and Jim Fregosi are the only Angels shortstops to hit at least 10 homers before the All-Star Game.

Neto has slashed .256/.307/.439 with 10 homers, 18 doubles, 10 stolen bases and 35 RBIs in 77 games this year. He’s been even better since the calendar turned to May, batting .273/.326/.491 with eight homers, 11 doubles, six stolen bases and 24 RBIs over his last 48 games.

Neto said Washington has helped him get better over that stretch and routinely gives him helpful advice, including on Wednesday.

“You can call it a confidence thing or just having somebody in my corner,” Neto said. “I was frustrated and trying to get out of my own head and to hear that from somebody else was definitely cool to have.”